Murder-for-hire suspect claims innocence

A jury went home for the weekend without a decision in the trial of a woman accused of killing her husband and making it look like a carjacking.

Shajia Ayobi, 46, is accused of killing her husband, Ghulam Ayobi, in December 2011.

Police said she offered to pay a former classmate $10,500 to hide in the back of her minivan and kill her husband to make it appear as though the two were victims of a carjacking.

Prosecutors said Ayobi had more than half a dozen motives for the murder, ranging from revenge for her husband's sexual affairs to collecting $285,000 in insurance.

Court documents show detectives linked Jake Clark's DNA to DNA found on a computer bag which contained the murder weapon.

Police also said the bag was found in a trash bin near Clark's former apartment.

In a jailhouse interview with KCRA 3 on Friday, Clark proclaimed his innocence.

"The evidence will speak for itself. And there's no real evidence that shows that I did (anything). I'm innocent, and that's all I can say, is I'm innocent," Clark said.

Clark said Shajia Ayobi repeatedly approached him in the days before the killing. The pair attended Kaplan College and were taking a criminal justice class together.

Clark said the first time Ayobi mentioned finding a hitman she said it was for a friend. Eventually Clark said Ayobi said she wanted to kill her husband and persisted in asking him to do it despite his refusals.

"If it's not you, get me someone who can do it. Have them hide out in the back seat of the car, wait for us to come out and then once the car starts rolling take care of the action," Clark said.

Clark was never called to testify at Ayobi's trial.

The jury is scheduled to resume deliberations on Monday morning.

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